Surprise: New Insurance Fee In Health Overhaul Law

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Your medical plan is facing an unexpected new fee. It's to help cover people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The $63-per-head fee -- buried in a recent regulation -- will hit health plans serving an estimated 190 million Americans, mostly workers and their families. It's payable starting in 2014.

Employers are not happy. The cost of compliance works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, maybe a few hundred for small firms. Most of that will get passed on to workers.

The Obama administration says the money will cushion health insurance companies from the hard-to-predict costs of covering uninsured people with pre-existing conditions, so society will benefit in the long run.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.